HMS ''Bachaquero'' (F110) was a ''Maracaibo''-class Mark I landing ship, tank of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. A converted Lake Maracaibo oil tanker.

Design

''Bachaquero'' was one of three shallow-draught

oil tanker An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a ship designed for the bulk cargo, bulk transport of petroleum, oil or its products. There are two basic types of oil tankers: crude tankers and product tankers. Crude tankers move large quant ...

s built by the

Furness Shipbuilding Company The Furness Shipbuilding Company was a shipbuilding company in Haverton Hill, Stockton on Tees, England. It was established during the First World War and operated from 1917 until 1979. The company was dissolved multiple times since but thes ...

Haverton Hill-on-Tees Haverton Hill is an area within the borough of Stockton-on-Tees (borough), Stockton-on-Tees and ceremonial county of County Durham, England. Once considered a part of Billingham, Haverton Hill was once a thriving industrial community which has s ...

in 1937 to operate in

Lake Maracaibo Lake Maracaibo () is located in northwestern Venezuela, between the states of Zulia, Trujillo, and Mérida. While Maracaibo is commonly referred to as a lake, its current hydrological characteristics may better classify it as estuary and/or ...

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

. She was requisitioned by the Royal Navy in December 1940, along with her

sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same Ship class, class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They o ...

s '' Misoa'' and ''Tasajera'', for conversion to a tank landing ship. Her oil tanks were removed to form a tank deck, and two large hatches and two 50-ton derrick cranes fitted to lift vehicles from the tank deck to the upper deck. Her bows were cut off square and a heavy steel door fitted. A hinged extension, together with the door, provided a ramp to unload vehicles. Steel armour plate was fitted to the

bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

and wheelhouse, and the ship was armed with a single 40 mm gun, six 20 mm anti-aircraft guns, three Lewis machine guns, and a smoke mortar. There was accommodation for up to 217 troops, and for a crew of 98. She could carry eighteen 30-ton tanks, or twenty-two 25-ton tanks, or 33 heavy trucks. After refitting was complete she was commissioned in August 1941.

History

North Africa and the Mediterranean

She was the world's first operational LST and the first British LST to engage in duties in

on 6 May 1942 while off

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

at Diégo Suarez during

Operation Ironclad The Battle of Madagascar (5 May – 6 November 1942) was an Allied campaign to capture the Vichy French-controlled island Madagascar during World War II. The seizure of the island by the British was to deny Madagascar's ports to the Imperial ...

.Bruce, Colin J. (1999). Invaders. London, UK: Chatham Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84067-533-7. P. 44

Normandy

She was off the neighbouring

Sword beach Sword, commonly known as Sword Beach, was the code name given to one of the five main landing areas along the Normandy coast during the initial assault phase, Operation Neptune, of Operation Overlord. The Allied invasion of German-occupied Fra ...

when she was hit by an 88mm anti personnel shell but damage was slight and casualties few. After the war she returned to merchant service and reverted to an oil tanker.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bachaquero 1937 ships Ships built on the River Tees Tank landing ships Amphibious warfare vessels of the Royal Navy World War II amphibious warfare vessels of the United Kingdom Lake tankers